Three cousins discussing issues, valuing liberty

The beauty of having 3 people manage this site is we do have differences of opinions. While I share my cousin’s sentiment for last night, I do disagree with him on one point.

Carly isn’t in trouble.

It’s early. These things still ebb and flow. She didn’t damage herself and she stayed steady and true to her message. Big gov’t is oppressive, it doesn’t work well and we’ve been talking about the same issues for 30 years.

I understand what DCuz is saying. She didn’t land any punches and she won’t likely be in many soundbites for the next week.

However, before last night, Chris Christie was in trouble. Ted Cruz was in trouble and that seemed to turn around in one night. It’s still early. There are more debates coming.

For me, Carly’s closing comments were spot on. I would love to see her go toe to toe with Hillary because deep down I know she would clean Hillary’s clock.

Last night’s Republican Presidential Debate moderated by ghastly CNBC “personalities” was certainly entertaining at times. Marco Rubio masterfully cast aside creepy Jeb Bush’s desperate attacks. Rubio effectively dismissed Bush’s pronouncement that Rubio should resign his US Senate seat if he’s not going to be in Washington for every vote:

“Over the last few weeks, I’ve listened to Jeb as he has campaigned across the country and he said he was modeling his campaign after John McCain. You know how many votes John McCain [missed] when he was carrying out that furious comeback that you’re now modeling under? I don’t remember you ever complaining about John McCain’s vote record, and the only reason you’re complaining about mine is because somebody … has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you.”

Rubio deftly delivered a knock-out blow to Bush and managed to do so without coming off as mean or in any way disrespectful to his mentor.

After Donald Trump described super PACs as a “disaster” and a “scam,” Rubio came back with one of the best observations of the night: “The Democrats have the ultimate super PAC, it is called the mainstream media.”

Ted Cruz had a fine performance. The thing about Cruz I find most grating is his self-righteous, sanctimonious delivery. I’ve said before he’s better suited to be a very successful televangelist. But last night he managed to shed some of that and delivered excellent, well-deserved punches at the CNBC moderators.

“You look at the questions; Donald Trump, are you a comic book villain? Ben Carson, can you do math? John Kasich, can you insult those two people over here. Marco Rubio, will you resign? Jeb Bush, why have your numbers fallen? How about talking about the substantive issues people care about?” Cruz then wondered aloud if any of these moderators had any intention of voting in a Republican primary election. I laughed out loud after he delivered that punch.

From my perspective, perhaps the biggest loser of the night was Carly Fiorina. Not because she got tripped up or committed a gaff. No. She was polished, prepared, and professional as always.

The problem is today. I have yet to see any clips being played by media of Carly’s performance last night. As of 9:40 AM this morning, not one clip. How do you know who won the debate? Whose debate clips are being played over and over again? This morning it’s all Rubio, Cruz, and Chris Christie. Fiorina left in the dust.

Fiorina’s polling has already dropped down into the high single digits. Last night’s performance will not give her a bounce. I am willing to bet if Carly doesn’t knock it out of the park at the Fox Business Channel’s next GOP debate (Tuesday, November 10), Fiorina’s campaign may flicker out sooner than any of us want to see.

Zerohedge.com passes along reports from German press today that hundreds of unregistered Syrian refugees have “mysteriously disappeared.” German authorities have no idea where they may have disappeared to.

This is not disconcerting at all, now is it? It’s not as if the majority of these asylum-seekers are strong, young men who seem exceptionally devout to their Islamic doctrine. Um, hold on there. According to the United Nations, fully 72% of Syrian “refugees” are men.

And it’s not like Germany has any history of sleeper terrorist cells operating, organizing, and plotting within its borders in the past, right? Oh…wait. There was a reference in the 9/11 Commission Report concerning some of the terrorists who carried out the 9/11 attack that were once part of an Al Qaeda-funded cell in Hamburg, Germany. But surely no chance such activity could be happening again now in Deutschland, right?

No, instead German authorities assure us “that the immigrants departed from the mostly rural province to either reunite with their relatives or to look for more attractive places to stay elsewhere in Germany or even abroad.” However, considering German authorities never registered these “refugees” in the first place, how could they possibly know who they are and why they are there – let alone have any clue where they’ve disappeared to and why?

No, nothing horrific could possibly come of this situation. One might call it an invasion of Europe by those hell-bent on bringing the caliphate to the rest of Europe. But such iterations are surely racist in nature and thus must be shunned.

Interesting article here about the Bush campaign and the rivalry with Marco Rubio.

Some people just don’t get it.

While I am not a fan of the politics of Obama, I do understand his appeal. In 2008, he was young, fresh and free from the grind of Washington D.C. He wasn’t “one of them”. He was an outsider. Someone with admittedly limited experience.

What people don’t understand is that is a plus.

Politics may have turned in 2008. “Experience” doesn’t matter as much. Experience is just a code word for establishment and establishment is out.

New faces are in. There’s a reason the GOP polls include names like Trump, Carson, Rubio, Cruz and Fiorina. These are people we largely hadn’t heard of 8 years ago (at least not in politics). Names like Santorum, Bush, and Kasich are less appealing because they’ve been in politics for too long.

My cousins and I have been talking off-line about the Trump phenomenon and why none of the other 14 GOP presidential candidates are catching fire (with the notable exception of equally puzzling Dr. Ben Carson). I cannot remember the last time the GOP had such a strong slate of potential nominees. Yet here we are in mid-October 2015 and none are breaking through.

It’s been suggested that the “low information” GOP primary voters are who makes up Donald Trump’s base of support. There may be some truth to that but I question just how many “likely primary voters” actually fall into the category of “low information voters.” If you are going to take the time to vote in your state’s primary, you are more than likely plugged in and paying attention. It’s the presidential general election that brings out the masses.

Trump is still connecting with voters and voters of all stripes. He has genuine appeal with blue collar and even union workers. New polling indicates GOP voters overwhelmingly believe Trump is the best candidate to handle the economy. No other candidate comes close to beating him on that measure.

The Establishment all assumed this phenomenon would fizzle out after a few weeks. And then they said it was merely the Summer of Trump and come September primary voters would start getting serious, cast aside their summer fling with Trump and coalesce around a more serious, experienced politician. That has not happened.

It’s been four months since Donald Trump announced his run for the presidency. We are now four months away from the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. What’s going to happen between now and then to stop Trump from winning both and steamrolling through the rest? Yes, four months is a lifetime in politics. But the man has already made gaff after gaff and his polling numbers have only climbed.

I’m beginning to think GOP primary voters are irreversibly pissed at the politicians they’ve elected and sent to Washington to stop the Obama regime’s actions. They’ve had it with political correctness and the timidity Republican leadership displays every day. They’ve seemingly done nothing to reverse the direction Obama is taking us.

Trump is the anti-politician. He’s blunt. Brash. He does not censor himself for fear of offending the sensitivities of those just begging to be offended. Some might not consider this “presidential.” But it seems a growing number of GOP primary voters think that may well be exactly what we need as President of the United States right now. Cut through the crap that is Washington and get this country moving in the right direction again.

I am most whole-heartedly not endorsing Mr. Trump. But I am beginning to understand why this love affair with Trump may not fade anytime soon.

If you haven’t figured out by now, we here at cuzliberty tend to be conservative bordering on libertarian. We love free markets, we love personal liberty and all that goes along with those things.

We tend not to like government regulation. We tend not to like government programs aimed at social issues. We tend to believe that people (via free markets) can decide what’s best for them.

That said. Huge respect for Bernie Sanders.

Why?

He’s principled if nothing else. I don’t agree with much of anything he has to say, but he’s consistent. He believes in using government to provide for the general welfare of citizens. He believes government through taxation, regulation and legislation can help shape society to solve problems and outcomes for people.

Like I said, I do NOT agree with any of it, but he’s steadfast in his approach and he doesn’t compromise or deviate from it.

You’ve heard it said countless times (if you’ve been listening): Voters have had it with Establishment Politicians and want a non-politician as president. After all, where has the Establishment in both parties running Washington gotten us? $19 TRILLION in debt and growing rapidly every passing day. A listless economy with lousy job growth, zero wage growth, and a sense we never truly got out of recession. An abomination known as ObamaCare. A Veterans Administration that despite everything we’ve learned still has not fired one person responsible for its atrocities against our military heroes. A foreign policy the likes of which we’ve not seen since the waning days of Jimmy Carter’s presidency. ISIS on the march. Iran dominating the Middle East with the strong backing and support from hostile Russia. And our allies in the region and elsewhere scared to death by the vacuum Obama has created and leaving open for the bad guys to fill. China is eating our lunch and spitting it back in our face. The list goes on and on.

Is there any wonder why primary voters in both parties are fed up and find outsider candidates like Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson, and Bernie Sanders attractive?

I don’t think it’s too risky a bet to say should Hillary Clinton and Jeb(!) Bush become their parties’ nominees that we would see the lowest voter turnout in presidential election history.

From strictly a political perspective I truly hope the Democrats nominate Hillary this time around. No candidate in recent memory has been more severely flawed and genuinely unlikable than Mrs. Clinton. Her sycophants say she’s the smartest person to every run for president. And if you only met her, you’d see what a truly lovely, warm, and engaging person she is. Funny thing is, we’ve all known Mrs. Clinton for 24 years now. How likely is it we’ll see this alleged lovely, warm, and engaging side of her between now and November 2016? We all know who she is and polling makes it clear, we do not like her.

Add to this Hillary’s growing email scandal and track record of failure and it’s not looking good for her. I’m of the opinion that the Clinton Foundation and its shady quid pro quo deals with foreign governments while Clinton served as Secretary of State that will sink her once and for all. Only question is when? Before or after she gets the Dem’s nomination?

On the GOP side you have a long list of wannabees who have zero chance.

Jeb! Bush is done. Yes, he is said to have over $100 Million sitting in his campaign account. But you truly cannot buy an election at this level and it’s abundantly clear Jeb! is not closing the sale with GOP primary voters. His time has passed. Or more likely, the GOP and the country have had their fill of Bush presidents. Sorry Jeb! You’re a nice guy from and admirable family. But we’ve already had one too many of you occupy the Oval Office.

Anyone who thinks Ted Cruz has a real shot at winning the nomination truly does need to put the crack pipe down. No one is more sanctimonious, self-righteous, or loves the sound of his voice more than Ted Cruz. Senator Cruz is far better situated to become an amazingly successful televangelist. Pat Robertson is 85 and has to step aside at some point. Hey Ted, give the 700 Club a call.

Under the category of “anything is possible,” it is possible Chris Christie could fill the void left by a dying Jeb! campaign. But Christie has pissed off so much of the base over the years that seems hardly likely.

John Kasich is not catching fire. He’s just another wishy-washy RINO who believes Washington bureaucrats can solve all our social ills.

Rand Paul’s timing is off. Way off. A fine man with principled ideas with a firm grasp of what America is supposed to be and the proper role of government. But in the age of visual media, Senator Paul comes off as an arrogant know-it-all, peevish, and not ready for prime time. Senator Paul’s principles are sound but his delivery is a disaster.

There is simply no reason to waste any space discussing Jim Gilmore, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, or Rick Santorum. Shouldn’t have even wasted the space writing out their names.

So of the 15 candidates who are still in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, who are still truly viable? In my unsolicited opinion you’ve got: Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson, and Donald Trump.

Yes, any of these four may irredeemably stumble and one of the others may somehow catch fire. But as it stands in early October it would appear these are the four candidates with the best shot at winning the nomination.

It has not gone unnoticed that 3 of the 4 are not professional politicians who’ve never held public office. Will GOP primary voters suddenly snap out of it and cast aside these 3 and replace them with conventional politicians. That does not seem probable.

So this begs the question: Who’s your dream ticket? Do you even have a favorite? Have you decided who your candidate will be, bought the bumper-sticker, and just how strongly committed to that candidate are you?

From where I’m sitting, Senator Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina seem the best bet. But at this stage it’s just that – a bet.

So I ran across this article today. In it, candidate John Kasich makes the argument that expansion of Medicaid is a Biblical principle.

Look at Medicaid expansion. Do you know how many people are yelling at me? I go out to events where people yell at me. You know what I tell ‘em? … I say, there’s a book. It’s got a new part and an old part; they put it together, it’s a remarkable book. If you don’t have one, I’ll buy you one. It talks about how we treat the poor. Sometimes you just have to lead.

And…..

Now, when you die and get to the meeting with St. Peter, he’s probably not going to ask you much about what you did about keeping government small. But he is going to ask you what you did for the poor. You better have a good answer.

How’s this for an answer.

That isn’t moral and I don’t think it’s what God intended us to do for the poor.

I’ve made this point about redistribution of wealth in the past and it applies to most other social programs as well. Assume Bob breaks into Marvin’s house and steals $5,000 by use of force. Bob makes a clean getaway and takes the $5,000 to provide health insurance to Sally. Is Bob acting morally? Is Bob being charitable? Is Marvin being charitable? Is Marvin taking care of Sally? Is Sally acting morally by accepting the $5,000?

Same story. Now substitute Bob for the government, Congress, IRS or any other agency and somehow this all becomes a good thing? Somehow when the IRS (by use of force) takes money from Marvin to give to Sally it is now charitable.

Really?

How is legislation, through the use of force, that takes from one person and gives to another noble or charitable? How is it Biblical? Is that really want the Bible calls for? Does the Bible really call for us to be charitable using other people’s money? Do really want an environment where A and B decides what to take from C to give to D? (Friedman)

I don’t think that’s Biblical at all. I would argue that the Bible calls for individual people to care for individual people of their own free will through voluntary sacrifice. That’s love. That’s caring for others.